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In balancing act, Pakistan to host Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Feb

NEW DELHI: After hosting the Saudi foreign minister, Pakistan is trying to mend ties with Turkey and Malaysia as it finds itself in the middle of a tussle for leadership in the Islamic world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had alleged that Pakistan skipped the Kuala Lumpur Summit under Saudi pressure, will visit Islamabad in February. Simultaneously, Pakistani leadership will visit Malaysia in the near future.

While Turkey is an old ally of the Pakistan Army, Erdogan has made concerted efforts to further expand ties with Islamabad. Erdogan’s proposed visit to Pakistan in February will further spoil Turkey’s ties with India which showed signs of improvement in 2017-18.

During a press conference held in Multan on Sunday, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Querishi said: “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would visit Pakistan in February, while the Pakistani leadership would also visit Malaysia in the near future.”

Pakistan will yet again require the support of Turkey and Malaysia to avoid getting blacklisted by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at the plenary meet in February.

Source: Economic Times